Masquerade in Lodi
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4.6 • 131 Ratings
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
Bastard’s Eve is a night of celebration for most residents in the canal city of Lodi -- but not for sorcerer Learned Penric and his Temple demon Desdemona, who find themselves caught up in the affairs of a shiplost madman, a dangerous ascendant demon, and a very unexpected saint of the fifth god.
This novella falls between “Penric’s Fox” and “Penric’s Mission” in the internal chronology of the Penric & Desdemona tales.
“Bujold couldn't characterize badly if threatened with a firing squad.”
- Booklist
“Bujold is not just a master of plot, she is a master of emotion.”
- SF Site
“Bujold continues to prove what marvels genius can create out of basic space operatics.”
- Library Journal
“Bujold is one of the best writers of SF adventure to come along in years.”
- Locus Magazine
“A superb craftsman and stylist, Ms. Bujold is well on her way to becoming one of the great voices of speculative fiction.”
- Rave Reviews
“Bujold has a gift, nearly unique in science fiction, for the comedy of manners.”
- Chicago Sun Times
Bujold's "work remains among the most enjoyable and rewarding in contemporary SF."
- Publishers Weekly
“Superb far-future saga.”
- Publishers Weekly, on the 'Vorkosigan' series
Lois McMaster Bujold was born in 1949, the daughter of an engineering professor at Ohio State University, from whom she picked up her early interest in science fiction. She now lives in Minneapolis, and has two grown children. She began writing with the aim of professional publication in 1982. She wrote three novels in three years; in October of 1985, all three sold to Baen Books, launching her career. Bujold went on to write many other books for Baen, mostly featuring her popular character Miles Naismith Vorkosigan, his family, friends, and enemies. Her books have been translated into over twenty languages. Her fantasy from Eos includes the award-winning Chalion series and the Sharing Knife series. In 2020, Bujold received the Damon Knight Grand Master Memorial Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America. www.dendarii.com
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bujold's enjoyable ninth Penric & Desdemona novella (after The Physicians of Vilnoc) takes readers back to an earlier time in temple sorcerer Penric's life, presenting a 29-year-old Penric and Desdemona, the demon who shares his body, with a mystery on the eve of the Bastard's Day celebrations in the island city of Lodi. Penric's superior, the Archdivine of the Bastard's Order, sends him to a hospice to check on an unidentified man fished from the sea and afflicted with some form of madness. Penric and Desdemona immediately discern that a demon resides within the man but, unlike Desdemona, this demon is untamed and insane. Before Penric can take appropriate action, the man and his demon escape into the city. Penric and Desdemona must partner with Blessed Chio, an 18-year-old orphan-turned-saint, to track him down through the carnival atmosphere of Lodi before his demon can harm anyone. Along the way, they aim to discover the man's identity and how he wound up in the sea. The mystery unfolds neatly, and by pairing Penric with Chio, Bujold has a window to explore the theology of her World of Five Gods. Bujold continues to add depth to Penric's and Desdemona's characters and detail to their world, even while keeping both accessible. The result will delight fans and new readers alike.
Customer Reviews
Fun!
An entertaining traipse-around with Pen and Des, and the addition of a Saint of the White God midway through.
Wonderfully fun
I loved the saint. Would love to see more of her.
Penric & Desdemona Moving On
In the internal chronology of the series, this is a time in Penric’s life when he is beginning to make his way in the world and enter into maturity in a way he could not back in the Cantons.
Those who have read the tales set later in the saga will have seen where it leads, but here we see Penric coping with the loss of his arch divine, his mother, and a calling that proved wrong. In a new city he is trying to build his life into a new shape - but his God, the Bastard, has work for him and Desdemona.
A lost demon in a lost youth; a saint who has never known a family; and Penric with Desdemona - the Bastard has ways of making things work out, but his blessings are not always comfortable ones. For once Penric and Desdemona are working with someone who fully understands this. Together it makes for the best Bastard’s Eve festival ever.